Temptation (A Temptation Novel) (33 page)

I still wasn’t free, though. After my eyes adjusted somewhat to the darkness, I slunk through the yard, dodging between trees as I went. Several kids were hanging out in the driveway among the parked cars, and my heart skipped a beat seeing them as I ducked down behind a bush. Hoping to get away without raising the curiosity of the teens, I made a final gamble that the darkness would shield me and ran for the roadway. I didn’t stop when I reached the pavement either, stretching my legs out to put as much distance between me and Party Central as I could.

Finally, when the
boom, boom
of the music faded away, and I was surrounded only by the chirping night sounds of the country, I slowed to a walk. Breathing hard to catch my breath, I decided I was way too out of shape when I felt a cramp shimmer up my left thigh.

Up until then, there hadn’t been any traffic on the road, which suited me fine. Now, though, I could hear the low rumble of an engine coming from behind. Briefly I worried that it might be Hunter looking for me. Quickly, I dismissed that idea, though, remembering he’d ridden to the party with us.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that it was a small red pickup truck that I didn’t recognize. Straightening up, and hoping the vehicle would pass by, I kept on walking, now with a slight limp due to the cramp. No such luck for me, I groaned inwardly when the truck slowed to a crawl alongside me.

“Hey, sweetie—you need a ride?” a man’s voice called.

With a sideways shift of my eyes, I judged that there were two middle-aged guys in the truck. I could only see the driver’s features, noting that his hair was buzzed and he had dark stubble on his rough ex-military–looking face. Could this night get worse?

I thought I had been terrified when Hunter, a good-looking teenage guy, was trying to make out with me. Now my mutilated naked body being dragged out of a quarry by a couple of cops in the middle of nowhere flashed through my mind. Thinking fast, I clutched my cell phone from my pocket, deciding to make a run for it to the brick rancher I’d just passed if I so much as heard the click of a truck door opening.

Without looking at the truck, I replied in the most unfriendly voice I could spit out. “No, I’m fine.” It wasn’t easy to manage coherent words with the muscles strangled in my throat, and I guessed my attempt at meanness sounded pretty pathetic.

“Your loss, beautiful,” the man said, sounding annoyed. But thankfully the truck sped up, leaving me alone on the side of the road. The tremors started in my heart and spread out with speed to my limbs until I was shaking almost violently.

After a couple of minutes of walking, I began pulling myself together, especially when I realized I was almost to the intersection of the road I needed to take, a much quieter and, hopefully, safer route. Praying that no other cars would pass before I reached it, I willed my legs to move and flew across the pavement, not slowing until the road split where I hung to the right. I would have kept on running, but the burning in my lungs and the cramping in my leg wouldn’t let me. I slowed to a fast walk, trying to control my frenzied breathing.

Hearing another car coming, I jumped the wide ditch without thinking and dived into weeds that were taller than my head. Lying on the damp, prickly ground, I held my breath, waiting for the car to pass. When it did, I rose, deciding as difficult as it would be to travel through, the safest place for me was hidden in the tangle of weeds and bushes parallel to the roadway.

Determined to get home alive, I began trudging through the overgrown field in the direction of my house. Maddened, I hacked my way through the giant patches of briars, the skin on my bare arms and legs being constantly snagged by the sharp points until I could feel sticky blood smeared over most of my exposed body.

Following a few minutes of torture, I began moving at a snail’s pace, taking the time to try to unhook the thorns before they tore up my skin any further. I could feel the stinging on my face, too. My suspicion that I had a huge scratch there was confirmed when I reached up to feel a long streak of blood welling up on my cheek. Great, now I’m going to be permanently scarred from this fiasco.

As if hiking home through the man-eating field while trying to avoid being kidnapped by lunatics wasn’t enough, the clouds decided that was the time to open up and unleash their moisture. Rain fell to the ground in a soft sprinkling mist, touching the scratches and causing a hundred little stings to sizzle across my skin. After a few more minutes of walking in pain, I began to cry quietly.

I thought I had reached my physical and emotional breaking point until I hooked my toe under a root and stumbled forward. Unable to catch myself, I crashed to the ground, my hands breaking the fall somewhat but being pierced by thorns in the process.

Lying there on the sharp, muddy ground, I couldn’t keep the tears from gushing out of my eyes, trailing warmly down my face. I pulled my knees up to my chin and braced my head against them, rocking myself back and forth.

I had been rescued from my suffering for most of the summer by Noah. Now he was gone, and my life was worse than ever. I missed him so desperately it chewed at my insides until there was nothing left anymore.

Why had I been so stupid? I said no to him so that I wouldn’t lose the life I’d grown accustomed to, but after tonight, I could honestly say that my life sucked anyway. So why was I clinging so hard to it? At least if I’d become Amish, I would be with Noah, and he would be the one hugging and kissing me, instead of some stranger I didn’t even like. I wouldn’t be sitting here in a briar patch a couple of miles from home in the cold rain, bleeding.

Shifting my weight to escape the sharp poke of a thistle into my hip, I let the grief take me, losing all perception of time, the minutes blurring together. I lay there on the cold, mushy earth, the weeds and stems jabbing into my body for quite a while. I couldn’t find the energy to move. I was too exhausted, and as the misty rain settled into the still, dark night, I listened to the nothingness of complete silence.

My phone split the night air unexpectedly with its unwelcome rock tune, nearly stopping my heart. I fumbled awkwardly with my numb fingers trying to answer it quickly. My sheer focus was on making the noise stop. Without seeing the number, I answered, “Hello?”

A pause, and then his voice,
his glorious voice,
came through the phone into my head. I pressed the phone tightly to my ear, not daring to breathe.

“Rose—it’s Noah. How are you doing?” he asked softly, almost shyly.

The question was funny under the circumstances. If I weren’t in so much discomfort, I probably would have laughed. But hearing his voice also brought on another emotion,
guilt.
My encounter with Hunter came trickling into my mind, bringing the tears again. In a muted whisper, I stuttered, “I’m…okay.”

“What’s wrong? You don’t sound right.”

My wall tumbled down at the worry in his voice. I cried in a rush of sloppy words, “I had to leave this party because this guy was bothering me…and everyone was drinking beer…and…it was so awful…” I trailed off with a gulp.

“Where’s Sam?” he demanded in an angry voice.

“He’s still at the party—up in a bedroom somewhere with his girlfriend,” I croaked, trying desperately to keep the crying to a minimum.

“Where are you?” He sounded desperate. I suddenly regretted telling him the truth, but I couldn’t take it back now. So I answered honestly, “I’m sitting in a thorny field beside the road.”

“Tell me your exact location, and speak clearly.”

I had to focus my mind enough to think.

“I’m on Stone House Road, a little ways from the bridge.”

“Are you in that overgrown field in the curve of the road?”

“Uh-huh,” I said, shaking my head happily that he knew where I was.

“Don’t move. I’ll be there as quickly as I can manage.”

Suddenly panic shot through me. “No! You’ll get into trouble,” I nearly shouted into the phone.

An unnerving laugh came through the phone to me. “I don’t care about that. I’m coming to get you, and that’s the end of it.”

“How will you get away?” I asked.

He said impatiently, “My family is at the Weavers’.” Pause. “Rumor is already hitched up—so I’ll be there soon. Just don’t go anywhere…and, Rose?”

“Yes?”

“I love you,” he said softly.

“I love you, too,” I told him. Then his voice was gone, and the tingle of foreboding nagged at me as I stared into the shadowy grass. He was coming to get me, and I would see him again. Maybe even kiss him. Hugging my arms around myself, I sighed wistfully, thinking that I’d finally get to ride in that buggy of his.

All was right with the world again.

24

Noah

Priorities

HANGING UP, I
wasted no time, sprinting through the shed in a few long strides and stepping into the seat of the buggy. Steam was still rising off Rumor, blending into the misty rain that dropped from the sky, and I regretted for an instant that he had to go out on the pavement again. I dismissed the thought quickly, promising that I’d give him a good rubdown when we returned. He was a tough horse and could handle the extra work. What really mattered at the moment was Rose and getting her safely home.

Flicking the reins with force, I asked Rumor to stretch out into a road trot and guided him down the driveway and onto the roadway. Within seconds, a car came up behind the buggy, only to whip out around us. The driver was obviously too impatient to maintain the slower speed for any amount of time.

Once the car was out of sight, the night became dark and still again, with only the occasional whip-poor-will’s call piercing the quiet of the countryside. Thankfully, the mist had turned into the occasional soft drop of rain, and I reckoned that if Rose was dressed appropriately, she’d be all right waiting in the field until I arrived.

My heart was beating furiously at the thought of seeing her again. We’d be alone for a little while, giving me the opportunity to hold her in my arms and kiss her. A small part of me was angry with her for getting herself into such a fix—and maybe a bit hurt that she hadn’t called me for help on her own, but all that wasn’t really important. Rose needed me and I’d never let her down. The way my body had reacted to hearing her voice—the pounding of my heart, the sweat that rose on my skin and my inability to breathe normally—said it all. I still loved Rose. And nothing in the world would change that fact.

Somehow we’d make it work. Even if it meant that I’d have to turn away from the Amish. I would rather be with Rose and live the English way than be without her, living a lie with another woman.

My mind made up, I was more anxious than ever to reach her and I snapped the reins again, asking Rumor for still more speed. We were fairly close now to the place I guessed she was hiding, the metal joists of the bridge just coming into view. Very soon, Rose would be with me—and I’d never let her go again.

25

Rose

The End of the World

WAITING IN THE
cold wet grass seemed like forever, but checking my phone, only ten minutes had passed before I heard the first clip-clopping in the distance.

Stiffly, I stood and carefully began retracing the vague path I had made through the overgrown plants, futilely attempting to avoid more cuts. I was soaked through and even my tennis shoes were squishing beneath me. I didn’t care, though; my only thought was the desire to see Noah again and feel his arms around me. After hearing his voice and the worry in it, I knew that I had to do whatever it would take to be with him—even if that meant becoming Amish.

When I’d met Noah, it was as if I’d woken from a long, sickly sleep. He had brought to me the feeling of being truly alive and I now understood that I would never get that wonderful bubbling sensation from anyone else. Noah was the only person in the world who would protect me and keep me safe. My dad had his own life to live and was too preoccupied with his job and new girlfriend to care much about what I needed. Sam had proven to be totally self-centered when it came right down to it, only caring about his own good time.

And Mom was gone.

Noah would love and take care of me, cherishing me for the rest of my life, until we were old and gray and sitting on a front porch swing. But could I really handle being Amish? Even with my resolve to be with Noah, I still wondered at that. It would be difficult for sure, maybe impossible, but I would give it my all to be with the man I loved more than anyone else in the world…and to escape the cold, lonely world that I now lived in.

The hoofbeats were closing in, and I searched in the direction of the noise, catching sight of the blinking red buggy lights. Relief washed over me. I picked up my pace with renewed energy, knowing that he was close to me now.

I struggled to engage my chilled muscles and crawl up the other side of the bank, pushing the coarse grass aside with my hands while I moved up and forward.

Noah is going to freak out when he sees the state I’m in.
I slowed for an instant to catch my breath. The clip-clops were close enough now that if I yelled loudly I was sure Noah would hear me. And that knowledge gave me the incentive to push myself harder.

That’s when I heard the loud rumble, the sound’s intensity growing so quick that it shook the air around me. My mind dimmed and time sped up. On my knees, finally free of the vegetation, with my hands resting on the hard, abrasive surface of the asphalt, I saw it. The source of the roaring noise.

The huge white semitruck’s horn blasted, rupturing the misty air like an explosion to my ears. Time moved even faster and my heart stopped, followed by my lungs. Then my worn-out muscles locked, freezing me into place. I was forced to watch helplessly in mounting horror as the truck came barreling down the narrow road.

One blink and I could see Noah’s carriage clearly enough that for the briefest instant his face came into view. His eyes were wide and his mouth open. Then the picture was gone, snapped away as if deleted from a camera, replaced by the white blur of the truck skidding by me.

The screeching sound of the tires seared into my head as the giant machine frantically tried to stop. Its brakes locked into place, the monster groaned and cracked with the effort. Each sound sliced through my body like a knife.

The battle was lost as the trailer flipped sideways, covering the road with its enormous body, still surging forward with unrelenting speed and force, unable to be stopped by man or nature.

I felt faint from the spinning in my head. What was left of my brain screamed for me to shut my eyes, but I couldn’t do it. They were held open by invisible pins.

Another second passed.

I couldn’t see anything except the white mass of metal careening down the road, blocking out the sky and obliterating everything. The sound of Rumor’s scream mixed with the crunching and racking of metal and ripped across the world.

Time abruptly stopped when at last, the mechanical beast fell silent.

* * *

Somehow in the haze of the cataclysm, my legs came to life, and I surged onto the road, running over the scarred and torn-up pavement. With the grayness of shock pushing into my mind, I managed to pull the phone out and, still running, dialed 911. Only a second, and the clinical voice on the other end said, “Nine-one-one—what’s your emergency?”

I found my voice. “Accident…tractor trailer and buggy…Stone House Road…near bridge.”

“Could you repeat that, ma’am?”

I was at the belly of the behemoth, the smell of rubber and friction poisoning the air, and I couldn’t believe the size of it.

The stranger’s voice sliced into my shocked head. “Did you say Stone House Road?”

I was able to give one more reply before the adrenaline took hold of my body. “Yes, Stone House Road, come fast.
Please.
” My voice cracked, the sound not real, not my own.

* * *

My body worked of its own accord, stumbling and half running around the left side of the truck. The cab hung off the road, leading me once again down a steep embankment in an effort to get around the demolished machine.

Finding strength from somewhere deep inside, I scrambled up the other side. The scene that met my eyes caused me to hesitate a second before I ran straight into hell.

My eyes were locked on Rumor; lying on his side, the buggy nearly unrecognizable, crumpled like a piece of black paper that had been wadded up into a ball against his body. His loud grunting filled my ears and my stomach rolled violently when I saw his front legs snapped at the cannon bones. The pearly knobs jutted out, bright red blood gushing over them.

In the horse’s terror and pain, he began flopping, trying desperately to get up onto mangled legs that would never support his body again. The muffled pounding of what was left of his legs mashing into the pavement lightened my head and without any control, acidy bile rose up in my throat and out my mouth.

Brushing my wet lips with the back of my hand, I recovered enough to take the six or so strides needed to reach the poor horse. I hesitated at Rumor’s bleeding and broken head, glancing at the wreckage of the buggy…where Noah was.

He must be dead. No one could survive such a thing.
I couldn’t breathe and the tears dripped from my eyes in a constant stream that I didn’t even try to wipe away.

Rumor’s pained whinny and his attempt to rise again caused me to look back at the horse and waver; the desire to go to Noah pulled at my gut. But I couldn’t leave his beloved friend—I couldn’t just step over his body, ignoring the large brown eyes rimmed in white from fear.

Grabbing the check piece of Rumor’s bridle, I dropped to the pavement and pulled his head down to my lap, murmuring soothing words of encouragement. Seeming to understand me, he stopped struggling and rolled over to his side, breathing rapidly. As he quieted, I placed my hands over his eyes and whispered softly, “Shh, it’s okay, boy. Just close your eyes and sleep now.”

I was too numb with agony and shock to shed a tear for the dying horse—the ones that flowed from my eyes were for Noah. I could only keep the soft words flowing out of my mouth so that he knew he wasn’t alone.

A great spasm raked Rumor’s body, almost throwing me away from him, but I clung to his bloody face, until, with a shuddering breath, his life slipped away into the darkness of the night. He was still. Horribly still.

Sucking in the sob that threatened to erupt from within me, and with a bizarre disconnection from what I was experiencing, I rose and squeezed around the horse’s warm body, only to slip in the blood that was pooled around him. I pulled myself back up, gripping the harness for support.

I needed to find Noah. I knew he was dead already and the devastation to my soul was complete. I felt no pain. There wasn’t anything left inside me that could feel at all. But still I had to find him to say goodbye, and I crawled along Rumor’s body until I could see him.

He was wedged between the horse and the buggy. In the dim light spreading out from the truck’s headlights, I saw his eyes were closed. He looked peaceful in a way; certainly not as brutalized outwardly as his poor horse. Reaching his booted feet first, I felt my way up his legs, stopping when my hand touched the warm wetness. I brought my fingers to my face and realized that it was Noah’s blood. His leg was cut up badly. I blocked the vision of his destroyed limb out of my mind and continued to crawl under the splintered shaft, until I squeezed in next to his body.

Softly, I began to probe his upper body with my fingers in the muted light. Movement jolted my senses. I was sure I felt his chest rise. As if to answer an unspoken prayer, the clouds divided, allowing a slice of moonlight to shine down on the carnage.

I could see his face clearly in the spray of light. His mouth was working, trying to form words that wouldn’t come. Dropping my face to his, I felt his breath stirring the air ever so slightly, and my hand that rested over his heart was lifted up and down softly with his weak breathing.

My heart began to pound madly—
he’s alive.

“I’m here, Noah—it’s okay. You’re going to be all right.”

I hardly believed it myself, but the little speck of hope gave me the strength to bring the phone out. Quickly, I hit the saved number. Now that there was the possibility that he would be okay, my body came alive again as if waking from unconsciousness, and I began to cry and gulp for air.

“Where are you, Rose?” Sam’s voice registered in the far reaches of my mind. He sounded incredibly relieved.

“A semitruck hit Noah’s buggy. He’s still alive, Sam. Come now—
I need you,
” I blurted out in near hysteria.

He didn’t question what I said, only saying, “Holy shit. Where the hell are you?”

Thankfully, he didn’t sound drunk, and I pushed the words out of my quivering mouth. “I’m near the bridge on Stone House Road. Hurry, Sam—please, hurry!”

“Are you hurt, Rose?” I could hear his truck door slam and the engine start up through the phone.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled, dropping the phone and lying down alongside Noah’s body. I wasn’t really listening to Sam anymore. Noah’s mouth had stopped moving, and he was so still.
Still like Rumor.
My hand couldn’t detect any breath from his nose or mouth and the rising and falling from his chest stalled.

Pressing my head to his heart, I listened hard, straining to hear any gurgle or murmur of life. Hearing nothing, I felt the shock settle into my mind, slowing it down and then turning it off.

I didn’t know what to do. The fear of jostling his body or attempting CPR wrapped around me like a cocoon—I was a doctor’s daughter, but I had no emergency training myself.
I couldn’t help him.

“Don’t leave me, Noah. Please, don’t go,” I whispered into the darkness as the light spray of rain touched my face.

If only I could turn back time.

I would tell him yes.